The present invention relates to product display devices for use in storing and merchandising shelved products and, more particularly, to various embodiments of a stackable shelving system adaptable for holding and merchandising a wide variety of products including bottled products and other products and the containers in which they are sold. Each shelving system includes a base shelf member adaptable to be supported on a floor or other support structure having means associated therewith for holding and retaining a plurality of products and product containers positioned thereon; and a plurality of additional shelf members each adaptable to rest upon and to be supported by the products or product containers positioned on the shelf member located therebelow. Each of the stackable shelf members also includes means on the bottom portion thereof for receiving and engaging the upper portion of the product containers upon which it is supported such as the cap or crown portions associated with bottled products as shown in the above referenced pending application. Each embodiment of the present system is specifically designed to accommodate a particular product container size and shape including single bottle and multi-pack arrangements and, although the present devices are ideally suited for holding and merchandising both single bottled and multi-pack bottled soft drink products, they are likewise adaptable for use in a multiplicity of other product display applications.
Numerous display systems and other devices including modular display fixtures have been designed and manufactured for use in merchandising bottled products such as soft drink products to customers. These display devices are commonly employed by supermarkets, convenience stores, grocery outlets, drug and liquor stores, fast food outlets, and a wide variety of other wholesale and retail stores and for use as both indoor and outdoor store displays to show off and focus attention on the wares displayed therein. One of the major problems associated with known systems for handling and displaying merchandise such as described above is the inability to handle large quantities of such merchandise in prestacked condition ready for placing in a store or other location such that when so placed and the binding straps, shrink fit cover or other bulk packaging is removed, the customers can remove the products, as required, until the display of products is exhausted, after which another prestacked display can be set in place to replace the now empty display. The present invention addresses the problem of conveniently packaging, handling, shipping, storing and displaying such merchandise, and in a manner that makes use of widely available equipment such as fork lift trucks, skid movers or other similar apparatus. The present invention is also readily available for use with prestacked displays on wheels or skids and the like.
Although various product shelving displays have been designed to alleviate some of the aforementioned problems, all such devices still suffer from certain disadvantages and shortcomings including being relatively large, bulky, short lived, awkward to handle, unstable, expensive, and difficult, if not impossible, to use on or in conjunction with conventional shelving and other display devices and arrangements presently available in supermarkets and other merchandising outlets.
The several embodiments of the present display system disclosed herein overcome many of the disadvantages and shortcomings associated with the known display devices, and teach the construction and operation of a relatively simple stackable shelving system adaptable for holding and merchandising therefrom both single bottled and multi-pack bottled soft drink products as well as a wide variety of other bottled and packaged goods. Each of the present display systems includes a base and/or a base shelf member adaptable to be supported on a floor or other support structure for holding and merchandising products positioned thereon; and a plurality of substantially similar shelf members each adaptable to rest upon and to be supported by the products positioned in a particular controlled way on the shelf member located immediately therebelow. Each base shelf member is preferably of a one-piece plastic molded construction and each includes opposed front and rear edges, opposed side edges, and a floor portion extending substantially the full length and width therebetween. The floor portion associated with each base shelf member is specifically constructed to accommodate and support a particular product or group of products positioned thereon depending upon the particular size and shape of the product containers to be displayed therein or the particular packaging arrangement associated therewith.
Once a manufacturer or other person stocks the base shelf member with a bottled or other product, he positions a shelf member on top of the previously loaded layer of products and, if necessary, makes sure that the shelf member is properly aligned on the next lower layer of products and thereafter stocks that particular shelf member. Each additional shelf member, when engaged with the products positioned therebelow, is supported by and stackably held on said layer of products immediately therebelow and this process may be repeated until any desired display height is achieved. This ability to stack each of the present shelf members directly upon the products positioned therebelow allows a user to maximize the available merchandising space as well as contributing to the required stability of the display system for shipping, handling, and on-locations use, and since the present devices can be conveniently positioned and arranged on any available floor space, they provide the user with greater flexibility in changing and relocating product displays while at the same time always providing a neat, orderly, safe and attractive arrangement of such products. The present device therefore enables displaying the maximum number of products in a given merchandising space.
The present invention teaches the addition to display systems of the type shown in the referenced application means to strap, shrink fit or apply other bulk packaging on such systems to prevent them from coming apart during shipping, handling and storage, and means which facilitate lifting, moving, rolling or sliding such prestacked display systems without endangering or damaging the products and without requiring that the merchant receiving the products has to do much more than locate the display system where he or she wants it for the convenience of the customers and of the merchant.